How to Improve CRM and Tap Your Audience

A lot has been written and said over the past six years about the Agile methodology–from a tech methodology to the next best thing that quickly resolves challenges.

The truth, however, has different sides to it depending on how your company chooses to implement Agile. Nevertheless, surveys and stats have repeatedly shown that Agile offers specific benefits to the teams adopting it. So, Agile started expanding to more departments outside IT.

One of the key benefits of this method against the old and traditional ones is that it helps teams in a variety of ways to create and produce high-quality services that are focused on improving the customer experience.

According to a survey conducted by Econsultancy, by 2020, customer experience is expected to be more significant for companies than content marketing. Consumers’ behavior is changing rapidly, and the Internet is the leading reason for this shift.

As consumers continued researching their future purchases using reviewing apps and websites (whose growth has multiplied since 2000) they began to realize not only their purchasing power but also that:

• They were not interested in ads.
68% of Millennials trust online reviews as opposed to 34% who trust TV advertising.

• They have more trust in the opinion of their peers and influencers they follow.
53% of Millennials surveyed said that user-generated content has an influence on their purchasing decisions, compared to 44% for traditional media and 23% for banner ads. 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

• They wanted companies to see them as individuals and co-creators of value rather than recipients of products.Personalized CTAs resulted in a 42% higher conversion rate than generic CTAs.

Major changes in consumer habits happen over time and from one generation to another. Millennials struck a deafening, “Not for me,” to the market dynamic as we knew it 8 or 10 years ago. Inevitably, corporations had to play along to survive. Companies started shifting their primary focus from massively advertising their products to astutely tapping their audience.

According to Walker, even companies have 60 to 70 percent of their buying decision made before a sales representative even walks through the door. The traditional “sales pitch” will be obsolete by 2020, since buyers will do their homework.

But, how does that affect the employees of a company? Trends and markets change rapidly in a short period. Sometimes before the end of a project, the objectives and tactics need to change, as they don’t respond to any real-life challenge anymore – they are not current.

This is where Agile comes in.

The three most significant benefits of adopting Agile are:

The ability to manage to changing priorities

Increased team productivity

Improved project visibility

Although Agile began as a method for software development, its benefits were discovered to be relevant and much needed in more departments.

To learn more stats about how and why Agile is the answer to your team challenges, watch the video below:

Find more stats about the current state of Agile and Scrum in the infographic.

Sofia Zafeiri is the Social Media Coordinator at IIL. She graduated from NYU with an Ms in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. Before moving to New York City, she worked for a variety of organizations in Europe.

About The Author

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In a connected world, word of mouth often means online reviews and recommendations, of which there are many forms. Onsite reviews that translate to qualitative stars like you see on Amazon or Yelp are one way to get customer feedback from those already using your site, but for objective information from newcomers, social media is your best bet. “Word of mouth is integral,” says David Parker, cofounder of Vowch , a recommendation-based curation app. “Social media doesn’t undermine the importance of word of mouth — social media amplifies it and makes it more important.”

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IIL is a global leader in training, consulting, coaching and customized course development, and is proud to be the educational provider of choice for many top global companies. IIL’s core competencies include Project, Program and Portfolio Management, Business Analysis, Microsoft® Project and Project Server, Lean Six Sigma, PRINCE2®, ITIL®, Agile, Leadership and Interpersonal Skills, Corporate Consciousness and Sustainability.